The present inventions are directed primarily toward food preparation devices and particularly toward devices which inject substances into foods.
It is common today for cooks in homes, bakeries and restaurants to use hypodermic type needles to inject marinades, flavorings and other liquid substances into meats and other food products. Such devices are also commonly used to inject more viscous liquids and semi liquids such as jellies, frostings, puddings, into such foods as cakes, cream puffs, eclairs and cupcakes. Typically these devices resemble oversized medical hypodermic syringes which the cook fills through the back of the barrel and hand operates by pushing a plunger. These devices allow flavorings to penetrate inside and throughout the food and provide foods with a moistness, texture, and/or taste they might otherwise lack.
Commercial food injection devices have also been in common use for many years. Like their home and restaurant counterparts, these devices typically use hollow needles inserted into the food to inject liquids and semi liquid substances. Their applications include not only injecting flavorings and food substances such as already mentioned, but also liquid and semi liquid substances to increase food weight, decrease spoilage, and help in processing. Three such commercial food injection devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,928, Townsendxe2x80x94Means for Injecting Fluids Into Food Products; U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,095, Van Harenxe2x80x94Brine Injection Device; U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,640, Raevsagerxe2x80x94Apparatus for Injecting Brine Into Food Products.
All the aforementioned devices are limited to injecting liquids and semi liquids. Solid materials such as dried spices, salt, sugar, sunflower seeds, peanuts, garlic cloves, chunks of pineapple, jellybeans, chunky peanut butter, etc. cannot be injected using any of these devices.
It would be useful to have a mechanism which could inject solid substances such as just mentioned into foods. Such a device also might find wider use in medical and other settings.
As examples, whole peanuts could be injected into sesame rolls, or pineapple chunks injected into hams, or garlic cloves injected into a pot roast, or jellybeans injected into frosted cupcakes, or lemon chunks injected into rotisserie cooked chicken, or walnuts injected into roast beef, or ice cream injected into angel food cake, etc.
Several embodiments of the present inventions are illustrated in the appended figures. In brief, all embodiments comprise four interrelated sections: the injection needle, the solid material mover, the power drive, and the material loading mechanism.
Starting with the injection needle, embodiments as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 7, show two alternative constructions 20 and 22, both having needles 21 and 23, ending in penetrating points 24 and 26, and both having movable port covers, shown respectively as 28 and 30, to cover respectively injected solid exits 32 and 34. Penetrating points 24 and 26 allow piercing into the object to be injected. Movable port covers 28 and 30 may serve either and/or both the purpose or purposes of structurally supporting penetrating points 24 and 26, and/or restraining materials to be injected from leaving the needle until the materials are driven out by the solid material mover.
In the embodiments as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 7, the solid material mover comprises plunger 36 which slides into and out of needle 21 or needle 23 and thus pushes solids out respectively through food injected solid exits 32 or 34 covered by respectively movable port cover 28 and 30.
In turn, plunger 36 is pushed into needle 21 or 23 by the power drive mechanism comprising pusher plunger 38 which slides inside of barrel 40 driven by manual pressure.
FIG. 8 shows another configuration for the power drive mechanism comprising direct manual pressure on plunger 84. This eliminates the need for pusher plunger 38, barrel 40 and needle ring securing nut 54.
Other configurations for the power drive mechanism might also be employed. As examples, a solenoid drive such as used in electric staple guns, or a powered screw drive mechanism such as used in electric cookie presses, or a ratcheted screw drive mechanism such as used in electric caulking guns, or a flexible shaft drive such as used in orthopedic surgical equipment might also be used to replace the mechanism previously described.
One example of a motor drive is illustrated in FIG. 9. As already described, this embodiment uses a gear reduced electric motor to drive a plunger which pushes material to be injected out of the injection needle and into the object to be injected.
In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 through 7, the material loading mechanism comprises placing solids to be injected into needle 21 through opening 42 or into needle 23 through opening 44. Openings 42 and 44 are opposite respectively penetrating points 24 and 26 on their respective needles 21 and 23. In the example shown in FIG. 1 needle 21 or 23 must first be removed from barrel 40 by unscrewing needle ring securing nut 54 before materials may be loaded through openings 42 or 44. Alternatively, pusher plunger 38 and plunger 36 may be backed out of barrel 40 and materials to be injected may be dropped into the back of barrel 40 where they may drop by gravity into needle 21 or needle 23. Plunger 36 and pusher plunger 38 would then be reinserted into barrel 40.
Alternatively, the material loading mechanism may comprise splitting 46 needle 21 or splitting 48 needle 23 and hinging a portion of each needle so that the unhinged portion could dip into and scoop up solids and semi solids to be injected. This dipping and scooping is similar to a spoon scooping up material. After dipping, scooping and filling the needle, the hinged portion of the needle would be swung back into place and secured, as an example, by sliding ring 50 or 52 respectively over needle 21 or 23, and plunger 36 driven by the power drive mechanism would push the solids or semi solids out respectively through injected solid exits 32 or 34. Ring 50 or 52 could be held in place on their respective needles 21 and 23 by friction or by a small protrusion sliding over an indented groove to make a snap fit. Such snap fits are well known in the art and thus are not described in detail herein.
To make operation easier of the material loading mechanism just described, hinge 72 might be biased so hinged needle portion 60 naturally springs outward as shown in FIG. 3 when ring 50 is removed from needle 21. This would mean needle 21 would be naturally open for scooping when ring 50 was removed. Alternatively, or in conjunction with the above, finger lever 74 attached to hinged needle portion 60 might help with finger pressure to move hinged needle portion 60 to its open position as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3.
Operating the embodiment comprises the steps of filling needle 21 or 23 with solids 66 using one of the material loading mechanisms such as just described or an equivalent. Once the embodiment is loaded and any needed reassembly completed, the needle is pierced into the object to be injected, and the power drive mechanism is activated, as an example by manual pressure as described above on intermediate thumb pads 60 and/or on primary thumb pad 58. This causes solids 66 to be expelled from the embodiment as shown in FIG. 7.
The embodiment may be constructed at any scale including: small-scales, appropriate for use in orthopedic surgery or other medical procedures such as implanting solid medicines or objects; intermediate scales such as illustrated in the appended figures for use in food preparation; to larger scales appropriate for inserting solid objects underground or other places.
Likewise, many different materials may be appropriate for use in constructing embodiments of the present inventions. As examples, the embodiment shown may have needles 21 and 23 constructed from pliable plastics such as polypropylene, nylon, polyethylene or polycarbonate. Barrel 40, pusher plunger 38, and needle ring securing might as examples be made from ABS, polycarbonate, polypropylene, acrylic diecast aluminum etc. Medical embodiments of the present inventions might use similar materials or might be constructed from other materials such as stainless steel.
Other features might easily be added to the preferred embodiment such as volumetric measuring markings on the side of needles 21 and 23 or barrel 40. Clear or translucent materials on needles 21 and 23 and barrel 40 might help or be necessary in the use of such markings.
The embodiment may also be used for injecting all viscosity of liquids, including: light viscosity liquids, semi liquids, highly viscous liquids, and liquids containing solids. To accomplish these tolerances between plunger 36 and the inside of the needle 21 or 23 might be adjusted so lighter liquids would be driven out. Also, movable port covers 28 or 30 might have to fit tightly when closed to keep lighter viscosity liquids from escaping before injection.
For all embodiments described herein, many features detailed need not be necessary to practice the present inventions. Likewise, most features described herein can obviously be interchanged between embodiments even where they are not specifically shown.